Krusin' the Capitol Newsletter Archive

2007
Topic D - SCAPEGOATS
September 30, 2007

The scapegoat plan: load all your sins on a goat and drive it out into the wilderness. It is a neat way to avoid thinking about your own sins. Some are good at it.

Or I could title this: “Nutty opinions which get too much traction.” Either way, this paper is a bit of diversion from developing one topic.

For example, we hear that ethanol plants are responsible for “doubling” food prices by raising corn prices, giving working people a hard time. Well. The last time I looked, a box of corn flakes has 16 ounces and sells for $2 and up. Since a bushel of corn has 56 pounds, 4 cents a pound puts the value at $2.24. Doubling that is $4.48, which is over the current price of corn. Four cents increase would be under 2% increase in cost.

Farmers have ground their teeth on this one for years. “Bread costs are high because the farmers get high prices for wheat.” This week we hear that bread will go up 25% to adjust. Again, a pound of bread now has 15 cents worth of wheat. A dime raise? Twinkies is promising us a 5% price increase because wheat prices have raised. Well, wheat has gone up a lot, but since goop is most of the Twinkie weight it would be hard to get 3 cents of wheat in a pound. Farmers are not getting Twinkie-rich.

Or we hear, “Illegal aliens are destroying our country.” People who work for less than they are worth and pay on my Social Security with no return for them are hurting me? We have lots of problems, including winking at the law while making money, but chasing this goat across the border will not change what we do to ourselves.

Or, “Flip-flop” politicians are what is wrong with our country. At the same time we place value on politicians who will listen -- and change to our views. So which is it?

Or, people who favor a smoking ban are against my freedom and therefore un-American. The problem is that secondhand smoke is deadly and costs us tons of money. Plus the small matter that it is the duty of government to provide clean air and water.

Or, raising the minimum wage will break our economic back. Now we are into passion. Red-faced persons have told me Omaha cannot afford to pay more than $5.15 per hour. Starting wage at Burger King is $7 per hour. Who are we talking about? Business response: minimum wage sets all the other wages. My staff hoot. They have been on the employment ‘ladder,’ with no raise. If some union contract is that silly, change the contract. The real tragedy of this one is that paying people less than they are worth does hurt the economy and does raise taxes. We know of employers who have told low-pay workers their health plan is to go to the state for medical care.

Or, “We live in a Christian nation.” The intention is to diminish non-Christian persons and to ridicule the points of view of Christians who the speaker thinks are unbiblical. We do not live in a Christian nation. Never have. Pilgrims tried that and folks soon looked for escape. I find no evidence that Jesus would have killed off the Indians or supported slavery or helped dictators overthrow elected leaders in eleven countries in the last thirty years.

Scriptural principles, including Christian, clearly guided our founders and the writers of documents of our revolution. We place high value on persons because of our view of creation and that leads to rights we feel persons have. Persons do not earn their rights. No baby can. We say rights are God-given, without feeling the power and mystery of that thought.

Or, people who oppose the war oppose democracies, where the majority is right. We know better than that. Democracies can become harsh dictatorships for the minority. Iran is the closest to being a democracy in that region. Can we live with that and will we fight for that? The problem is politics and passion. Hopefully, we can someday sort this out and give honest support to those who care about freedom.

Or, leaders who say people have a role in global warming should be driven into the wilderness. And leave the rest of us on an earth where life conditions are deteriorating.

Or, the world is going to pot and those who do not think so are the enemy. This view gives evidence of little sense of history, the values expressed in most governments, the quality of life created by diverse cultures, and the changes in rights of women and minorities in the history of many developed countries, including our own in the last 200 years. We have miles to go, but we have come a long way.

Or, “Give people what they want.” Stay away from restrictive laws. (I hear that a lot.) Sounds good but then private choice preempts the public common good. Even the Lone Ranger cared about community.

Or, a person driving drunk is expressing free will and does little harm. For example, less harm than an undocumented worker, who puts a load on society. Among issues that we can do something about, abuse of drugs is the heaviest cost hit on our society.

Or, supply and demand set gasoline prices. To believe that, I would have to believe that those running the companies are stupid -- and I do not. Prices vary as much as 25 cents between villages and 20 cents in a day. Gas prices go up and down even while the cost of production remains stable and no one is running out of gas. Most prices are set by greed, driven by stockholders who want what the market will stand.

One more. For now. Either preach that consumption is our greatest power or get pushed aside in debate on the economy. The people have great power -- much more than their capacity to eat. We have more power if we examine what some want us to assume.

Challenge assumptions!

Lowen